Tragic news has hit the Nigeria armed forces as over 30 soldiers of the Nigerian Army were shot dead after jihadist insurgents in the northern countryside of the embattled country concluded a successful ambush on Friday afternoon.

Deploying land mines, technicals and machine-gun fire at close range, militants loyal to the outlawed Boko Haram (ISIS franchise) caught government soldiers completely off-guard in what ended up being a de facto massacre.

The photos were released by Amaq Agency, considered to be the Islamic State’s primary media outlet. The ISIS-tied outlet did however not specify where exactly the above ambush took place.

Boko Haram, a jihadist group which has pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, has been deadlocked in clashes with a UN-backed coalition of African states (Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger) that was formed in March 2015.

Boko Haram has outlived other militant groups in northern Nigeria, and has built a presence in neighbouring states where it has carried out attacks and has recruited fighters.

It has a force of thousands of men – CIA officials have estimated around 9,000 – and cells that specialise in bombings. Through its raids on military bases and banks, it has gained control of vast amounts of weapons and money.